Sutton teacher's new novel nominated for Kindle Storyteller Award
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Rae Toon started writing after returning to education to work towards becoming a teacher, writing a poetry collection for a dissertation.
After completing university, Rae needed a project to keep them busy over the long summer holiday, so embarked on their first novel.
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Hide Ad15 years later, and the 49-year-old is approaching the end of book number seven, with their most recent release being, by coincidence alone, about isolation.
Rae explains: “My sixth novel is ‘Post-Midnight Blues’ - a heart-warming tale of friendships, both human and canine.
"It's a trapped narrative - the protagonist, Con, has isolated herself in her static caravan home due to past traumas that haunt her.
"Her rescue dog, lurcher Heathcliffe, is forced to co-habit in this restricted existence, although he's always on the lookout for an escape route.
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Hide Ad"Readers are all commenting on how much they enjoy the extracts where we are allowed access to Heathcliffe's droll and darkly comic thoughts – imagine if Joe Brand and Jack Dee had a love child in the dog form - that's Heathcliffe.
"One idea I definitely wanted to get across in the book is how rescue dogs save us as well.”
Despite assumptions that the inspiration for the book was the pandemic, the book was actually penned before COVID began, however Rae thinks everyone’s experience of their own isolation will help readers sympathise even more with Con’s experiences.
“For many who have gone through mental health struggles during the lockdowns, she will offer a real source of inspiration in how she comes to terms with her demons and moves on," Rae said.
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Hide Ad“In some ways Con is a caricature of her author - I too live alone, my best friend is my rescue dog (Jess, a brindle staff) and I'm pretty neurotic.
"I recently 'came out' as non-binary and I certainly have a few demons lurking from past relationships.
"Writing Con's story helped me work through some of my identity baggage and I really hope she can do that for readers as well.”
The book has been nominated for the Kindle Storyteller Award and is available on Amazon or via Rae’s website.
A copy has also been donated to Mansfield Library.